German Patent Application No. 1 33 10 477 A1 describes a device which includes a block-shaped housing, a component parts support located in the housing, a plug-in connector extending out of the housing at a front-end opening, and a frame-shaped retaining element, which surrounds the plug-in connector, overlapping it in part, and fixes it in position on the housing.
The plug-in connector represents a separate, replaceable part and includes a plug element made of plastic, in which support segments of contact elements are supported, the end segments of the contact elements constituting contact segments for coupling with mating contact elements of a mating connector and connector segments for connecting to the component parts support.
To be mounted on the device, the plug-in connector is attached to the retaining body using screws, and the retaining body to the housing of the device using snap-in connections. This manner of furnishing an electrical device with contact elements as a connecting means within the framework of a separate plug-in connector is unfavorable from a production engineering standpoint, and it is connected to high manufacturing costs. In particular, for such a device, the plug-in connectors must be constructed, inspected, and placed in intermediate storage. After the plug-in connector is conveyed to the device, the plug-in connector is attached to the device in assembly steps.
If the device is exposed to high mechanical stresses, for example, because it is mounted directly on an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, then additional reinforcing (safety) measures must be undertaken. For example, a reinforcing lacquer may be applied to the screw connections to prevent a shattering of the electrical connections between the connecting segments of the contact elements and the connecting points of the component parts support. This leads to the manufacturing process of the device being cost-intensive.